Strap fastener

Add to album

This bronze strap fastener was found at the site of the Roman fort at Newstead in Roxburghshire. It was made between 80 and 100 AD and was used to fasten straps in a horse harness.

The elaborate fastener has a key-shaped openwork eye for attachment to a T-shaped hook, a rectangular middle section with traverse, raised lines, and a narrower, rounded section leading to the rectangular end.

Excavations at Newstead have revealed much about the layout and daily life in Roman camps in Scotland. Some of the finer objects at Newstead, such as this one, were probably used in tournaments or ceremonies rather than fighting.

Record details

To search on related items, click any underlined text below.

• Online ID: 000-100-037-097-C
• Image Rights Holder: National Museums Scotland
• Project: National Museums Scotland
  Project description   View all records in project
• Ref: National Museums Scotland  X.FRA 549
• Date: Between 80 and 100 AD
  
• Material: Metal; with eye for attachment to a T-shaped hook
  
• Dimensions:
• What:
• Subject:
• Who: Newstead Collection
  
• Where: Scotland, Roxburghshire, Melrose, Newstead
  
• Event:
• Description: Metal strap fastener from Newstead
  
• References:
  • Curle, J. A Roman frontier post and its people: the fort of Newstead. Glasgow: MacLehose, 1911, Pl. LXXIII, 5. 
• Translations:
• Related Records: